31st August

The final day of the summer holidays was supposed to be one of relaxation, all homework done, uniforms and supplies organised and bags packed already. However, when three owls arrived whilst they were having tea in the family living room, the relaxed air broke.

"Why would they send the letter the evening before we need to be at Hogwarts!? I've been inherited since June, Blaise since November last year, and even Harry's been a Creature for over a month now!" Draco scowled, standing up to pace, handing over his letter to Tom when he held out his hand.

Tom scanned the letter in silence, before snorting, placing it harshly down on the table. "Because Dumbledore is an incompetent fool."

"What's wrong?"

Draco, who had been working himself up, looked slightly wild as he span to face Harry at his question, causing the Fae to slightly shrink back, lip twitching at the sight of his messy hair. "Dumbledore has decided to send us notice that we've apparently got an extra class on our timetable, Creature Studies, the day before we begin! There's a textbook we need to get for it, and a questionnaire to answer for the teacher! How are we going to do that!?"

Blaise tutted, opening his own letter and scanning it briefly, nose scrunching. "I don't even have this one, it's so outdated now, by over two hundred years."

"What do we do?"

Elian stood, drawing their attention. "It's doubtful that Diagon Alley will have this book, not that any bookstores would be open now, but my parents might have a few copies- I'll ask around my family. We can order new ones after-"

Tom interrupted him with a smile. "There's no point getting new ones, it's such an outdated book. Thanks, Elian." The man beamed, before heading out of the doors for the floo room. "What you should do in the meantime is that questionnaire."

"How can we do that without the textbook?" Harry questioned, reaching for his own letter.

Blaise, who had pulled out the parchment the questionnaire was on already, sighed in relief. "It's a questionnaire based on ourselves- our teacher wants to know our personal details, our Creature type, our classification, whether we have close Creature relatives and a short summary of how much knowledge we already possess."

Harry tutted, pulling out his own parchment and grabbing one of the pens in the middle of the table. "So much for a relaxing final evening."

The Fair-Folk Realm- Royal Palace

Elian walked the halls of the Palace with a nervous, swift gait, passing by the other Fae roaming the corridors without a second glance, despite how many bowed at him.

It still made him nervous to walk the Palace halls despite being an adult now, too many instances of being sequestered by the public who rarely saw a Fae child still burned into his mind.

He turned right, left, and right, until he finally entered the large doors at the end of the quiet corridor, entering his Family's personal area. A relieved breath left him as he leaned back against the doors, relaxing now that he was out of the public's view.

"El, what are you doing here at this time, is everything alright?"

A soft voice spoke in front of him, and his golden eyes snapped open to meet a pair as equally as vibrant as his own. They belonged to a very familiar face that mirrored Elian's and the majority of his siblings, one of his many older siblings, towering over him with a concerned expression.

"Esias, hi." He bashfully greeted, blushing slightly under his older brother's searching gaze. "Yeah, I'm," He cleared his throat. "I'm good! Just here for some books. From the library."

His brother hummed, tilting his head, long black hair tumbling over his shoulder as he did so. "As long as you're ok...How's your mate? Or, mates, If I remember correctly. The young inherited Fae, the Vampire, the...Dragonborn and the..."

"Boread, his name's Draco."

Esias' face lit up in remembrance. "Boread! Yeah, wow, there aren't many of them about anymore, I can remember when they used to compete with the Veela in numbers...Anyway, how are they all?"

"Good, they're good, although Harry, Draco and Blaise are a little stressed currently since they're going back to Hog- school tomorrow and their headmaster has only just informed them that they have a Creature Studies class to attend, and don't have the textbook needed. That's why I'm here."

"Ah, that explains it! Well, good luck with finding that textbook, although I should rather be wishing you luck in getting out of the library or castle altogether."

"Why?"

His older brother smirked. "Da's in the library currently."

Shit.

"Good luck~" He taunted as he left through the double doors, leaving Elian to make the trek to the library with no further interactions.

His da sat on one of the many sofas in the library, settled comfortably in its corner with a blanket over his bottom half, white eyes scanning the book in his hands. Elian made his way slowly towards him, making his footsteps heavier to announce his arrival.

Seeing his approach when he looked up, Alian stood from his spot on the plush sofa, eyebrows furrowing with concern. He made a noise in the back of his throat, hurrying closer to cradle his youngest son's face between his hands, eyes searching. "El, sweetheart, you're back so soon." He spoke in his usual soft, whispy voice, barely heard even in the silence of the library. "Is anything the matter? Are you and your mates well?"

"Yes, da, everything's fine, I've only come for some books."

With confirmation that nothing was amiss, his da perked up, colourless eyes shining as he entwined their hands together. "Which do you need? Are they for your mates? The Fae? The Boread? I know they're quite young and inherited Creatures. I will recommend some, follow me." Despite his smaller stature, his da managed to pull him towards the bookshelves.

"I only need a specific one, although I need three copies of it. It's called 'Creature Society for the newly Inherited' by Laudee Vern, 1767. Do we have it?"

Alian tutted, looking up at Elian with a scrunched-up nose. "That book isn't an accurate depiction of Creature society, all it will do is confuse them. And it's not appropriate for inherited Creatures to read, with the stance the author has on them. Whatever do they need it for, and three at that?"

"Hogwarts, it's one of their set textbooks, although they only received notice that they would be joining that class today, so we don't have the time to try and find one elsewhere. Besides, as you said, it's outdated and wrong, why would we spend money on new ones?"

"Hmm, I'm sure we have at least one somewhere." He perused the nearest shelf, scanning the shelves with superhuman speed, before moving on to the next one with a tut of dissatisfaction. He continued to shuffle through the shelves for the next few minutes until he hummed in delight. "You're in luck, we have exactly three copies, although I have no idea why we would have so many. Here, sweetheart." He passed the stack to Elian, placing an extra fourth, fifth and sixth book on top of the ones he had requested, although he knew better than to try to give them back.

"Thanks, da."

"As proper thanks, you should arrange a time for me, your father and your mothers to come and see you and your mates, you've already been mated for over two weeks! I want to meet my new son-in-laws!"

Elian rolled his eyes fondly, accepting the kiss on his cheek. "I will, da."

"Have a safe journey home, and make sure to tell those boys that that book is full of utter shit!"

"Yes, da!"

"And don't think I won't be checking in later tonight to see if everything's alright!"

"I'm leaving!"

He arrived back at the manor, swiftly heading for the living room where his mates sat, filling out their questionnaires with some grumbling. Tom was sat by Harry's side, helping him with the ones he didn't quite understand.

"What do I put in Creature bloodline? My mum's maiden name? Or do I put Sermoira and Hui?"

"Sermoira and Hui, your mum's maiden name is classed as a muggle one."

Harry hummed, writing down what he'd said in the box, before pausing. "Wait, does this mean that my mum isn't actually a muggle-born? Since she's descended from magical beings."

Elian cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "To the wizarding world, yes, she is a Muggleborn, since they don't recognise Creature blood further back than grandparents, and from what you've said, your Great-Grandparents aren't Creatures. To Creatures, it depends on how many generations removed she is from her most recent direct Creature ancestor. If, say, a great-grandparent of hers was a Creature, then she is considered a Creature-born. Any more generations removed than that and she would be regarded as a Creature-descendant, but that doesn't hold much weight, it only means that she has the possibility of being a blood carrier. However, now that you, her son, have inherited as a Creature, she would be regarded as the same as a Creature-born."

Harry, who had put his pen down partway through his explanation, raised an eyebrow. "That sounds way too confusing."

"Yes, she is a Muggleborn, but to Creatures, she's a Creature-born or descendant." Tom clarified. "Now, next question."

"Ah, Elian, did you manage to get the textbooks, or are they as close as you could find?" Draco asked, plucking the top book from the pile in his arms.

"Yeah, my da managed to find three of them to his surprise, the top three are extras I couldn't refuse."

"'Faire Folke: A Compendium'."

"I think he's put one about Fae, one about Boreads, and one about Creature society as a whole, which will be more helpful than these ones." Elian placed the pile down on the table, splitting it in half and pushing the textbooks towards Blaise and Harry.

"Are the textbooks really that bad? The teacher wouldn't set them if they were."

"My da said to tell you that they're 'utter shit', and I've learnt to trust him on such things. Read it enough so that you know what it says, but don't take anything it says to heart."

Harry opened the textbook and began to read, eyebrows scrunching as he flipped the page, and another, and another, and another- "Is this person even a Creature, or do they enjoy villainising themself!?"

"Laudee Vern was a Creature-born Veela who saw Inherited Creatures as inferior. It confuses and worries me that this is the textbook that the Creature Studies professor chose, especially since there will likely be more Inherited than Creature-born Creatures in attendance." Elian answered with a frown, wanting nothing more than to take the book from his mate's hands and burn it. The professor who had set this as the compulsory textbook should be ashamed of themselves, whether they were a Creature or not.

1st September 1997

As students, Harry, Blaise and Draco were the only ones allowed to board the Hogwarts Express, something which Harry frowned about when they informed him of that last moment. However, Elian and Tom would be flooing to the castle ahead of them instead to get their rooms sorted before their arrival, which he could see the merits of.

It didn't mean that he was happy to be separated from half of his mates for the whole long train journey from London to Scotland, however.

With his face pressed to the glass childishly, he watched as the forms of Tom and Elian grew smaller and smaller the further away the train got until he could no longer see them anymore, turning back to sit properly on his seat with a huff. Draco and Blaise were sat on the opposite side of the compartment, either looking at him with amusement as Blaise was or nose-deep in the Creature Studies textbook as Draco was.

They had managed to snag a train compartment for themselves relatively near the front of the train, warding the doors shut behind them so that no unwanted visitors could come in. Harry was sure that Ron and Hermione could cope without him for the train ride, they already knew and understood his circumstances, after all.

Bored of the silence already, and happy to get his mind off of the uncomfortable feeling he got from the increasing distance between himself and half of his mates, Harry spoke up. "Draco, when will you have to leave for your Prefect meeting?"

As Head Boy, which hadn't been all that much of a surprise when Draco had told him about his appointment, Draco was expected to have a meeting with the other Prefects and Head Girl before the Sorting Feast, the only time available being the train rise up to Hogwarts. Harry had no idea what they talked about at them, but he knew that Draco's attendance was non-negotiable.

"Already trying to get rid of me, Harry?" Draco tutted teasingly. "It's not for a few hours yet, nearly at the end of the train journey. I'm hoping to keep it short."

A knock on the door had their heads turning. "Harry, you in there, mate?" Ron's voice called from the other side, and Harry watched as his two mates bristled at the nickname.

"Yeah, I'm with Draco and Blaise."

Oh, he hadn't actually told Ron or Hermione about his mates yet. Oops.

With a glance towards the annoyed-looking pair across from him, he opened the door. Ron stood there, Hermione at his side, both staring at him with raised eyebrows. "I can understand Draco, but why are you with Zabini?"

"They're my...mates."

Hermione was in his face then, eyes gleaming. "You've had your mate meeting already, then? I've read up about Creatures ever since you told me what you are. Is it true that Creatures can speak in the native tongue of their beast ancestors?"

"Um, I'm not sure..."

"And how about your Creature form, can you change in and out of it at will, or does it take more than that?"

"Um...at will-"

"Surely there's got to be more to it than that thought, right-"

A form was suddenly in front of him, blocking Hermione from his view. "Granger, if all you're here for is to harass my mate, then leave," Blaise spoke, an annoyed but cordial tinge to his voice.

"I'm only asking questions, Zabini."

"Yes, questions that are personal, and not to be shouted about amongst a train of Wixen. Please refrain from shouting so loudly."

She looked slightly put off at being reprimanded by Blaise, puffing herself up slightly, Head Girl badge shining brightly, but a look at Harry's overwhelmed expression deflated her. "Sorry, Harry. I was just curious, It's such an interesting subject."

"It's fine-"

"It's not just a subject, Granger, it's our life. Please have a bit more respect when asking questions about such things."

"Yes, I get it, I'm sorry. Anyway, can we sit with you? The Prefect meeting isn't until the end of the journey, so there's plenty of time for us to catch up."

Harry smiled, pushing Blaise back to his seat despite his protests. "Yep, I have so much to tell you." He could feel twin glares burning into the back of his head.

Tom & Elian

After waving goodbye to his younger mates as the train departed from the platform, Tom grabbed Elian and apparated them back to the manor, where they began to gather the things they needed for Hogwarts in the Floo room.

Elian tapped him before he could begin packing them into an extension-charmed bag. "You go on through first, I'll make sure that everything's here. There's no rush, anyway, we can come back and grab stuff at any time."

Tom nodded and headed through the Floo. He landed in the Headmaster's office, met with over a hundred pairs of eyes staring down at him, and a particularly annoying set of twinking, blue ones that eyed him with barely concealed fascination and fear.

"Dumbledore." He greeted the man, nodding his head slightly, avoiding eye contact to instead peer around the office he hadn't been in since his Hogwarts days. It had changed a lot, from Dippets minimalistic decor to Dumbledore's cluttered and colourful hovel, and Tom felt uncomfortable just standing in it.

The man stood, clasping his hands together joyfully, rounding his desk to approach him slowly. "Ah, Thomas, my boy! How are you?"

"I am well, thank you for asking, and yourself?" Not that he cared in the slightest about the man, but the politeness that had been pressed into him from a young age by his grandfather, and at an even younger age by the matrons of the orphanage, could not easily be forgotten.

"Yes, yes, well as can be! It is a new year, after all, full of fresh faces with eager eyes, ready to learn all the magic they can! It's such a joy for me to see them all so excited to be here! You'll be joining your mates for the welcoming feast, yes?"

"I will be, as will Elian."

Elian came through the floo then, tripping slightly on thin air, straightening his robes with a slight blush, and sent a disarming smile towards the headmaster. "Headmaster Dumbledore, It is a pleasure to meet you." He held out a hand for him to shake, who met him in the middle with exuberance.

"Ah, you must be young Elian Luwynn, the Prince of the Fae! Yes, I do say it is wonderful to meet you, I haven't yet had the pleasure to meet a Creature-born Fae, and only two other Fae in general, including young Harry before his inheritance." The headmaster babbled, still shaking Elian's hand, who looked uncomfortable as he forcefully tugged himself out of the grip.

"My kind prefer our own company, barring who we choose as mates and our children, of course."

"Of course! Well, that means that It's even more of a pleasure to meet you." He clasped his hands together and smiled at the pair. "Now, would you like to come and see the rooms that have been prepared for you and the rest of your mates?"

"Lead the way."

Dumbledore directed them up to the top floor of Hogwarts, chattering the whole way, both to them and the paintings and ghosts they passed on the way. When they reached the end of the corridor, the wall in front of them suddenly melted away, revealing another passage. "This is where the rooms for Creatures are situated, hidden away for safety due to the treatment of Creatures in more recent centuries. Not many of the rooms are inhabited nowadays, with the massive decline in the younger Creature population ever since the 1600s, so, including yours, only three are occupied."

"Do all the rooms have the same layout and size?" Tom questioned from the back of the trio, eyes wandering the walls, assessing the portraits of nosy Creatures- mainly Veela and Dragonborn and minor species- with a sharp gaze. Elian, on the other hand, seemed unphased at the medieval beauty of the castle's structure, merely curious about the strange man leading them to their rooms. He reminded him slightly of his ma, Dalina, and her otherwordly, floaty presence- just far less mystical and easier to read. Dumbledore was inexplicitly ravenous to be in his presence if the constant twitches of his hands and quick glances sent over his shoulder betrayed anything.

"No, they differ depending on how many people will be living in them and are assigned depending on the size of the mateship. We have assigned one of the larger ones to yours, given that there are five of you. I always knew that Harry was an exceedingly powerful wizard, but I had no idea he'd turn out to be so powerful as to have four powerful mates as a Creature!"

Tom nodded his head. "He is very impressive, we are lucky that he chose us."

"Oh ho, Tom my boy, I would have never expected that from you!" The old man laughed joyfully, turning down one last corridor before stopping. "Here we are! Now, to unlock the door, all that is needed is the password, which can be reset by accessing the ward stone set in the master bedroom. The current password is chocolate frogs." The door clicked open at his words, and Dumbledore entered, the pair following him.

The rooms consisted of a large open living room, a kitchen with an island, a main room that was a little smaller than the one at the manor with a matching en suite, and a connecting room the same size as the previous one.

"Is this suitable for you all? If you wish for a larger one, that can be arranged."

"No, this is perfect! Is it connected to the floo network?" Elian asked, eyeing the fireplace.

"Yes, of course! The room was designed with the knowledge that older mates most likely had jobs they needed to access, and it would be inconvenient to have to come to my office every time they needed to get to work. Is there anything else you will be needing? If not, then I must be off, the students will be arriving within a matter of hours."

"No, there's nothing else. Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore." Elian smiled politely at the man, wanting nothing more than for him to leave so that the rooms would feel safer.

"Oh ho, just call me Albus, my boy. We're all adults here!"

"Albus, then. Thank you for setting this up for us."

"It was no trouble at all! Well, I shall be off, goodbye for now!"

The man left, Elian and Tom relaxing as soon as the door closed behind his back, looking at each other with matching expressions of weariness. "Dumbledore's...a bit much."

Tom snorted.

They began to bring over the furniture they had bought specifically for Hogwarts, although Tom shrunk and brought over the master bedroom's bed as Harry had claimed he would miss it earlier in the morning. The furniture wouldn't be going to waste after Hogwarts, however, it would go to decorating some of the empty rooms around the manor once the year was over. As well as the bedroom, Tom sorted out the kitchen and the bathroom, placing the new pots and pans in their correct cupboards, knives, forks and spoons into their own draw, and even created the beginnings of a junk draw that would surely drive Draco insane.

Elian had also been given lots of books, ornaments and other useful items by his family when they had been informed that he was now mated, which included, but wasn't limited to: A bookshelf with a copy of every book his da had thought would be helpful, an ornate desk from his Father that would be transferred to his study after the year, a pile of knitted blankets from his ma, ten in total, a greenhouse filled with herbs placed within an expanded suitcase that would be planted in the manor's gardens next year from his mother, and an assortment of other trinkets such as pillows, ornaments and rare foods from his older siblings. Setting up all of this was relegated solely to Elian, so he was kept busy right up until Harry, Draco and Blaise finally arrived.

Harry, Draco and Blaise arrived at Hogwarts at six in the evening, meeting with Tom and Blaise in the corridor outside of the Great Hall after the journey up in the carriages.

"I forgot how long the trip took! Surely It shouldn't take seven hours with magic to get here!"

"The Hogwarts Express, unfortunately, isn't enhanced by magic. There have been calls since my time at Hogwarts to replace the mode of transport, but nothing has changed."

"When did you attend- wait, don't answer that! It was..." Harry looked to his side, working it out in his mind. "The 1940's."

"Late 30's to '40s, yes."

"And they still haven't done anything since then?"

He scoffed. "Of course, they haven't, the Headmasters of Hogwarts are as stubborn as they come. They won't change a thing unless it's a necessity, which the train isn't, since it works perfectly well."

They entered the group as a hall, and as Harry swerved off to the right to go and sit with his fellow Gryffindors, a hand wrapped itself around the top of his arm. He turned around to fix a questioning glance at Draco, who was biting his lip. "What?"

"I'm not sure that we'll be welcome at the Gryffindor table. Sure, Elian would, but me and Blaise are Slytherins, and Tom's as Slytherin as you can be, so..."

Harry's eyes softened, glancing between the filling Gryffindor table that was glancing at their group with suspicion. He hadn't even thought about that. "Then we can go and sit at the Slytherin table."

"Will that make you uncomfortable, Harry?" Blaise asked with a softer tone than Harry had heard before. He looked at the Slytherin table. It was quieter than the Gryffindor one and looked a little emptier. Those sitting at it were also making a pointed effort not to glance in their direction, although that shouldn't surprise him- one of their greatest alumni was in their midst, after all.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, it's the better option of the two. I doubt the Slyhteirns would do anything to me, whilst I can't really rely on some of those who hold grudges against you in my house." He let them lead him over to the table, those on the end of the bench shuffling over so that they could sit down with space, goggling at them whilst doing so. Blaise sat to his left side, with Draco across from him, Elian sitting next to Draco and Tom closest to the hall doors with him squished in between them.

They continued to chat in quieter voices until the sorting ceremony finally began, and they were hushed into silence. They watched as the newest lot of first years were sorted into their houses- nine for Slytherin, eight for Gryffindor, eight for Ravenclaw and eleven for Hufflepuff- and as the teachers were introduced to them, new and old.

Notably, Harry noticed a wispy-looking man sitting at the end of the high table and stared. He... he'd seen him before, that man had always been at the head table, but why didn't he know his name or take any notice of him beforehand?

Blaise leaned closer to him to be heard over the din of the Hall. "That's the Creature Studies teacher, Professor Marke. I didn't notice him until after my inheritance as well- he's a Fae that specialises in concealment spells."

"Is he nice?"

"He's alright," Elian answered instead from where he was munching on a potato. "Although a bit young to be teaching other creatures about themselves professionally, but I suppose he might have been the only one Dumbledore could get a hold of. He's an Inherited Fae himself, so he might feel less connected to our realm than born Fae are."

Tom snorted, an unusually expressive sound from the man. "It always makes me happy to remember that Creatures view Dumbledore the same way I do- As someone to ignore as best as they can."

Harry glared at him. "Why do you hate Dumbledore so much? He's a good man!"

"He's a good man if you fit into his idealised society, which all of us no longer do. He tolerates Creatures, covets us really, but he's more afraid of our power to treat us as if we are the same as him. When I came into my inheritance, he no longer treated me as a muggle-born or a half-blood, but as the dark Creature that I really am. Which was, with fear, disgust and reverence for my power."

No words would come out of Harry's throat for a minute as he gaped. Finally, he managed to say something. "You're a dark Creature?"

The corner of his lips twitched into a small smile. "Well, I suppose there aren't such distinctions in Creature Society, but to Wizarding Society, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragonborn and more are considered to be dark creatures. The Fae are grey because the Government honestly has no idea what to classify your kind as since you rarely make an appearance. Ah, that reminds me, if anyone comes up to you, asking for an interview or that they wish to discuss your recent Inheritance, reject them and send them to me. As a Fae, the government would do a lot to gain information about the Fair Folk from you, and the same goes for you as well, Elian." Tom's voice turned serious as he looked at them both with serious eyes. "Any of you can come to me for help if you're being hounded, actually. I hold enough political sway for most of it to be suppressed, however."

"Father would sue anyone who attempts to do such as thing, too, And I'm sure Blaise's mother would have something to say."

The heavy atmosphere lifted with Blaise's snort. "Mother would be more likely to rip them to shreds, both figuratively and literally. She's been gushing to me about meeting you all whenever I go and see her."

Elian groaned. "Don't remind me, my da has been hounding me to set up a meeting. I've told him that you're all busy with school starting up, but he won't relent."

With that, the conversation changed to a lighter one, and they headed up to their rooms soon after the feast. Harry marvelled at the discovery of yet another hidden area, it having not even shown up on the map his dad had given him in his third year, too busy with his thoughts to register the many Creature portraits who stared at their group with fascination.

"I changed the password as soon as we arrived, and I believe it's best if we change it at intervals for maximum security. For now, however, the password is Creature." The door clicked open, and Tom pushed it, allowing Harry, Blaise and Draco in first to explore.

Harry immediately gravitated towards the sofa in the living room, diving headfirst into the pillows, sighing as he stretched out.

"Harry, come and see the rest before you fall asleep."

"M'not sleeping!"

Blaise hummed sceptically, sidling up to the sofa and pulling him up gently by his arm despite his protests. Harry went limp in his arms when Blaise made him stand, hearing a tut above his head as he grinned. It was wiped off of his face when he lifted him up into his arms instead, an arm around his waist and one on the back of his head to repress his struggles.

"What do you want to see first, the kitchen?"

"Let me down!"

"The kitchen it is."

"Oi!"

2nd September 1997

The morning was a hectic one, with Blaise and Draco hogging the bathrooms in different intervals, messing about with their hair and clothes, leaving Harry only a scant few minutes to have a quick shower, style his hair to the best of his ability, and get dressed. He managed to do so before the others had even managed to finish packing their bags.

Today at breakfast they would be receiving their timetables for the year, possibly starting their classes today if they were unlucky enough. Harry's five chosen subjects consisted of Charms, Transfiguration, DADA, Potions, which he had chosen before the start of sixth year, and the newly added Creature Studies, all of which he was suitably prepared for; the others hadn't allowed him to be any less than that.

Heading down to the Great Hall, ignoring the nosy portraits on the way once more, they dug into their breakfast. Harry had pancakes with chocolate spread slathered on them stacked in a pile on his plate, and he could feel Elian's disapproving stare burning into the side of his head.

"At least I'm eating breakfast, you know I don't like it."

The Fae breathed out a heavy sigh, stare relenting. "I suppose."

McGonagall came over then, heading for where they where were sat at the end of the table once more, having finished handing out the timetables to the rest of Gryffindor, with his own left in her hands.

She eyed Elian and Tom for a few moments, lingering on the older man with a steely glare, before greeting him stiffly and handing it over, swiftly walking back to the head table without a backward glance.

"She's still as lovely as ever. Glad to know that she hasn't changed one bit." Tom muttered, sipping at his tea as he watched the woman retreat.

"You know McGonagall?"

"We attended Hogwarts at the same time, she is a few years older than me, and always acted like that- as if Slytherins weren't worth her time. I'd blame Dumbledore, but I'm not sure if he has anything to do with it. She's just always been like that from what I've seen."

Harry looked between Tom and McGonagall's retreating form. It was easy to forget that his mate was actually decades older than himself, but, in the grand scheme of things, they were relatively close in age for creatures. Actually, for him to be the same age as both Draco and Blaise, and only a decade younger than Elian, was surprising in the eyes of Creature society. Elder Murr had told him as such when they had said their goodbyes, informing him that it was instinctive for most Submissives to choose the most powerful mates, which were usually those who were older.

Harry thought he had chosen well in that regard- Blaise and Draco were possibly the most powerful wizards in their year, and Tom had told him that back when he attended Hogwarts, he'd been top of his year as well. Elian was a mystery, as he'd been schooled in the Fair Folk Realm and therefore had no one to compare his strength to, but him being his Secondary Dominant spoke for itself.

Blaise and Draco also received their timetables from the sweeping form of Severus Snape, who didn't even glance in his direction, but nodded respectfully to Tom and gave Elian an assessing stare.

"Ugh, that's annoying, I have Arithmancy right after breakfast." Draco tilted his head back, groaning.

"Same here." Blaise sighed, searching through his bag to check that he had the materials needed for the lesson.

"I don't have a class today!" Harry whooped, smiling at the put-out looks he was sent by his mates.

"Then you'll be helping me and Elian sort out the rooms, or perhaps finishing off reading through your textbooks."

"I'd rather help, besides, I've only got Creature Studies tomorrow, and it's for periods five and six. I have plenty of time to read the textbooks."

"I'll hold you to that."